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World War II veteran Biagio Sciscione can barely walk without the use of a cane, but he was able to fight four thieves trying to steal a safe from his Kenilworth, N.J., home.

The confrontation happened right on the front lawn of his home, and the retired butcher said a rush of adrenaline helped him in the brawl -- that he won.

Elderly Jersey Man Fights off Burglars

World War II veteran Biagio Sciscione can barely walk without the use of a cane, but he was able to fight four burglars. (Published Wednesday, Sep 23, 2009)

"I ran right out there, I dropped my cane and I just went in action," Sciscione, 88, told the Star-Ledger.

The rumble started innocently enough when a woman approached the house Sunday morning claiming to be from a church.

Even though Sciscione and his wife thought the situation was suspicious, they let the woman into their home. But once she was in the house the suspect moved the conversation to the couple’s kitchen and start talking about her own life.

That's when two other women and a middle-aged man snuck into the house, while the Sciscione's were distracted.

“She was rambling on about how her boyfriend beats her,” Mary Sciscione told the Star-Ledger. The alleged suspect also talked about a dog bite when she was nine, boring Biagio Sciscione, who left the room shortly after.

“I couldn’t take any more,” he told the paper.

That’s when he saw the three others taking the safe, which they tried to hide with a blanket. The safe contained important personal documents and jewelry.

"My adrenaline went up and my blood pressure went up to 200," Sciscione said. "I ran right out there, I dropped my cane and I just went in action."

"I gave him a couple of socks," he said of the male thief. The women, he said, was pulling at his shirt and clawing his arm with their fingernails.

“They went through hell trying to get me away from then,” he said.

The suspects fled when Sciscione told his wife to call the cops, he said.

Kenilworth police issued a release saying officers responded to the scene around 10:45 a.m. and found the elderly man bruised and cut.

“This is particularly disturbing that the suspects shoved the elderly man to the ground, showing absolutely no regard for the man or his wife, Police Chief William Dowd told the Star-Ledger.

He said police found DNA evidence and fingerprints at the crime scene.

Only one thing mattered to Sciscione.

I got my property, that was the main thing,” he said. “I had important papers in there."